HARRISBURG, Pa. — Religious services are exempt from new coronavirus mitigation measures that Pennsylvania issued Dec. 10. Many houses of worship, however, are still limiting their in-person capacity and adapting winter holiday celebrations during the pandemic.
Chabad Lubavitch of Harrisburg was forced to cancel its annual Hanukkah celebration in the Capitol East Wing Rotunda, which usually includes singing, games and potato pancakes called latkes. Its director, Rabbi Schmuel Pewzner, instead is lighting the public menorah alone each evening.
Luckily, he said, this particular holiday is meant to be celebrated at home.
“We gather in public that we should recognize that it’s Hanukkah, so we also light the menorah in public,” Pewzner said. “But the root of the mitzvah, the way our rabbis instituted it and wrote it into the Talmud, was that each person at home lights the menorah.”
Some houses of worship are continuing to offer in-person services.
The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg’s website says public masses may still be held, while encouraging churches to offer digital livestreams of services.
Yet other church activities have been affected by the mitigation measures.
The Catholic Harrisburg Diocesan Youth Council recently designed a service project to work around pandemic restrictions. Council members distributed about 200 boxes of donated winter supplies outside the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Harrisburg Sunday evening.
“I think it’s definitely been a lot harder to do things with the lack of in-person and contact directly. But I think if anything COVID has really made us come into a lot closer contact with our communities as we realize the really present needs,” said council chairperson Sarah Mahoney.
In-person services have been completely suspended at other places of worship, such as the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and Congregation Shaarai Shomayim in Lancaster.
“Everything we’re doing right now is virtual,” said Rabbi Jack Paskoff of Shaarai Shomayim. “Our Friday night services, our Sabbath services, our holidays services, since whatever date it was in March have all been virtual.
Paskoff and other religious leaders said this year, health and safety had to be the highest priority.
“In Jewish law life is of paramount importance. It says that whoever saves one soul has saved an entire world,” Pewzner said.
Gov. Tom Wolf has also urged Pennsylvanians to celebrate religious traditions at home this holiday season.